And her... what fate awaited her?
Marrying Mr. Reno offered at least a glimmer of hope, but if she went to prison, she would be well and truly finished!
Noelle Lockwood panicked instantly. "I’ll marry him! I’ll do it! Princess Avery, I’ll marry him right now!"
Caleb Lockwood dropped the act. On his old face, his sinister, aged eyes were fixed on Estelle Lockwood.
"Estelle! I’m still your grandfather, after all! How can you be so heartless!"
Estelle Lockwood smiled.
She looked Caleb Lockwood up and down. "Old Mr. Lockwood, were you just thinking that once the Lockwood Family gets that money, you’ll make sure I suffer? After all, who was it that let me find out so many of your family’s secrets?"
Caleb Lockwood’s expression was sinister and ferocious.
Estelle Lockwood shrugged. "Too bad. You won’t get that chance now. After all... Caleb Lockwood, everything you’ve done has already been exposed."
"My true parentage, Noelle Lockwood’s true parentage, the lives you ruined for Phoebe Hale and her grandfather, the Lockwood Family’s ugly true colors, Princess Avery’s unreasonable behavior... all of it..."
"Has been broadcast live."
Estelle Lockwood tilted her head. "By the way, Old Mr. Lockwood, you must be curious why the live broadcast has been going on for so long, yet your subordinate is only calling to warn you now."
A dreadful answer had already formed in Caleb Lockwood’s mind.
Estelle Lockwood said with a grin, "Perhaps Old Mr. Lockwood should take a look outside?"
Outside Lockwood Manor, the police had just surrounded the premises.
Caleb Lockwood was no fool. He understood the implication. No matter how he looked at it, he was finished.
Not just him, but the Lockwood Family, everyone...
Old Mr. Lockwood’s teeth made a grinding sound. "Estelle Lockwood, I underestimated you... Good. Very good. If the Lockwood Family is finished, I won’t let you get away unscathed!"
Something occurred to Caleb Lockwood, and an exaggerated smile spread across his face. He roared with laughter, the ravines of his wrinkles deepening. "Estelle Lockwood, aren’t you curious? Aren’t you curious how Austin and I stole you, how we swapped your life, and why we chose you specifically!"
Nathaniel Sloan’s eyes flashed with shock.
No one around them moved. The audience in the livestream was also stunned.
[What does he mean? They stole Estelle Lockwood on purpose?]
[So they didn’t just randomly steal a baby girl to cover up the truth? They were specifically targeting Estelle Lockwood?]
[Could it be that Old Mr. Lockwood has a grudge against Estelle Lockwood’s parents?]
The more Old Mr. Lockwood thought about it, the more agitated he became. "HAHAHA! You’re dying to know, aren’t you? Let me go, and I’ll tell you! Estelle Lockwood, I did raise you for two years, didn’t I? Your grandfather was good to you, so don’t you dare repay my kindness with hatred!"
Estelle Lockwood’s expression remained calm.
Caleb Lockwood seethed with impotent rage for a moment. Seeing no reaction from Estelle Lockwood, he exploded again. "Estelle Lockwood! I’m talking to you! Aren’t you the least bit curious?!"
"Curious about what?" Estelle Lockwood retorted with a half-smile. "Curious about why you stole me? Curious about why you targeted me?"
"I didn’t know before, but now, I think I’ve figured some of it out."
Estelle Lockwood asked leisurely, "Old Mr. Lockwood, to be honest... we’re not entirely unrelated, are we?"
The room fell silent once more.
Estelle Lockwood’s tone was composed. "Old Mr. Lockwood, you have a brother, don’t you... Oh, your older brother, I presume."
Old Mr. Lockwood’s face stiffened.
Estelle Lockwood continued, "Your older brother, two years your senior, was better than you in every way. You were jealous and disgusted, and you held a deep-seated grudge..."
"Shut up! You’re talking nonsense!" As if driven mad, Caleb Lockwood suddenly roared, "I’m an only child! I don’t have a brother! Ask them if you don’t believe me!"
Estelle Lockwood’s lips curled into a smirk. "Then it seems I was mistaken. Old Mr. Lockwood is an only child and never had a brother... But in that case, I don’t understand. I don’t even know who my biological parents are, but from the sound of it, you have a feud with them, which is why you took revenge on me."
"How about this? You tell me who my parents are and what they did. Maybe my parents really did wrong you, and your kidnapping me was justifiable, hmm?"
Hearing Estelle Lockwood’s obviously sarcastic words, Caleb Lockwood’s lips trembled.
Estelle Lockwood had no interest in continuing. "Alright, the farce ends here. Old Mr. Lockwood, this might be the last time we see each other. Farewell."
’Why the last time? Because... because he was going to prison. No, no, maybe the death penalty. After all, after all...’
Finally, at that moment, an assistant broke through the crowd and rushed in.
"Chairman Lockwood, Old Mr. Lockwood... Estelle Lockwood has sued the Lockwood Family! It’s over! Everything is over..."
The moment this live broadcast began, the Lockwood Family’s fate was sealed.
The Lockwood Group was being sued simultaneously by Estelle Lockwood, Nathaniel Sloan, and the Kendrick Family. Murder, arson, human trafficking, theft, commercial crimes... the charges were piling up...
Caleb Lockwood’s legs gave out.
’How did things end up like this? How?’
Noelle Lockwood broke out in a cold sweat. Her heart felt as if it were being squeezed in a vise, a chill ran down her spine, and she couldn’t breathe.
She had been the golden girl... all the flowers and applause had once been hers. But now, everyone was calling her despicable, saying she was getting what she deserved, that she had brought this on herself and had no one else to blame...
Rose Lowell was panicking too. She came from a humble background and had married up to Austin Lockwood, enjoying twenty years of a comfortable life. They had finally managed to drive out that jinx, Estelle Lockwood, and now she was actually going to prison!
She couldn’t let that happen! No!
The Lockwood relatives also began to panic.
The company going bankrupt was a small matter, but they were accomplices! They would go to prison too!
Everyone was running around like headless chickens when suddenly, someone’s gaze landed on Noelle Lockwood. A realization dawned, and they let out a sharp scream—
"Noelle Lockwood! It’s you! It’s your fault! If you hadn’t committed arson and injured someone five years ago, if you hadn’t contacted Mr. Reno! Why would Estelle Lockwood do a live broadcast? Why would we be finished?! It’s all your fault!!"
As if suddenly enlightened, Caleb Lockwood also pointed a finger. "Noelle Lockwood, it’s you! It’s your fault!"
"If it weren’t for you, why would I have targeted Estelle? It was all you!"
Third Aunt Lockwood rushed over to Noelle Lockwood and delivered several sharp slaps. SLAP! SLAP! "Apologize! Noelle Lockwood, apologize to Estelle Lockwood! This is all your fault! Apologize now!"
Third Aunt Lockwood kicked the back of Noelle Lockwood’s knees, and with a THUD, she fell to the ground.
Then, Third Aunt Lockwood grabbed her head and began slamming it against the floor. BANG! BANG! BANG!
"Es... Estelle... Look, Noelle Lockwood is apologizing to you..."
Estelle Lockwood smiled.
So the Lockwoods did know the meaning of the word "apology." So the Lockwoods did know just how vile their actions were, how utterly despicable.
And yet, even now, the Lockwoods still believed that all of this was Noelle Lockwood’s fault. Even Old Mr. Lockwood thought that if it weren’t for Noelle Lockwood, the family would have been fine.
They hadn’t realized their own mistakes at all.